Labour Economics: Scopus, Scope, Metrics & Submission Guide

Key Takeaways

• Publisher and society: Elsevier publishes Labour Economics as the official journal of EALE.
• Identifiers: Print ISSN 0927-5371; online ISSN 1879-1034; supplied Scopus Source ID 16922.
• Scope: International empirical, theoretical and econometric labour-economics research, with strong emphasis on economic interpretation.
• Indexing: Elsevier currently lists Scopus and the Social Sciences Citation Index among its indexing services.
• Current displayed metrics: 4.6 CiteScore on a 2026 ScienceDirect issue page and 2.6 Impact Factor on current Elsevier pages; verify reporting-year context before formal use.
• Publishing model: Hybrid; subscription publication carries no author publication fee, while optional open access currently lists a USD 3,360 APC excluding taxes.
• Submission cost: EALE members submit free; Elsevier lists EUR 75 / USD 100 / JPY 8,000 for non-members, separate from any APC.
• Replication: Accepted empirical, simulation, experimental or numerical papers are expected to provide documented data/code sufficient for replication, subject to the journal’s stated exceptions.

Labour Economics at a Glance

Metrics and fees are time-sensitive. Treat this table as a dated research aid and reconfirm the live publisher and indexing records immediately before using the information for a university requirement, funding report or submission decision.

What This Page Covers

• Aims, scope and research themes
• Scopus and major indexing
• CiteScore and Impact Factor context
• Article types and recent themes
• Submission fee and open-access APC
• Data and replication requirements
• Peer review and editorial screening
• Journal-fit and pre-submission checks
• Ethical Contentxprtz support

Methodology and Authoritative Sources

This profile was prepared from the supplied Scopus source identifiers and current official Elsevier/ScienceDirect pages for Labour Economics. The core evidence includes the journal homepage, journal insights page, editorial board, Guide for Authors, and the supplied Scopus Source ID 16922.

Journal metrics, indexing status, fees, editorial appointments, author instructions and publishing timelines can change. Where an exact current value such as SJR, SNIP, quartile or acceptance rate was not verified from the authoritative records used here, this article says so rather than filling the gap from third-party ranking sites.

What Are the Aims and Scope of Labour Economics?

The journal is centred on research questions that labour economists would recognise as economically substantive. Elsevier describes its remit as international empirical, theoretical and econometric research of particular interest to labour economists. It gives particular recognition to empirical work that combines technical quality with a strong economic interpretation.

That wording matters. A paper does not become a Labour Economics paper simply because it contains employment, workers or wages as variables. The contribution should illuminate labour-market behaviour, institutions, incentives, policy or outcomes in a way that advances labour-economics knowledge. The journal also states that it publishes review articles from time to time and articles on comparative labour-market policies; special issues and special sections provide space for high-quality topical or conference collections.

Representative research areas

Based on the official scope and recent journal content, potentially relevant themes include:

• wage determination, wage differentials and inequality;
• employment, unemployment, vacancies and labour demand;
• minimum wages and labour-market regulation;
• education, skills, college choice and school-to-work transitions;
• migration, immigration and native labour-market outcomes;
• gender gaps, fertility and family-labour interactions;
• job search, recruitment, referrals and matching;
• workplace flexibility, amenities and non-monetary job attributes;
• technology, automation, robots and changes in labour demand;
• health, disability and the economics of the healthcare workforce;
• pensions, older workers and retirement incentives;
• discrimination and equal-opportunity policies;
• labour-market effects of trade and structural change;
• collective bargaining, unions and employment institutions;
• experimental and quasi-experimental evidence on labour-market behaviour.

Understanding Its Scopus Coverage and Journal Metrics

Elsevier currently identifies Labour Economics as indexed in Scopus and the Social Sciences Citation Index. The supplied source record points to Scopus Source ID 16922, while Elsevier’s journal insights also lists SJR, SNIP and the Australian Business Deans Council among the journal’s abstracting/indexing context.

A 2026 ScienceDirect volume page displays a CiteScore of 4.6, while current Elsevier journal pages display an Impact Factor of 2.6. Older cached Elsevier pages can show an earlier CiteScore of 4.0, which illustrates why metric dates matter. Before putting a number into a doctoral progress report, promotion file or grant application, check the live Scopus and JCR records and state the reporting year.

What about SJR, SNIP and quartile?

Elsevier confirms that SJR and SNIP are associated with the journal, but this research pass did not verify a current numeric SJR or SNIP value from the official current pages available. Likewise, a current category-specific quartile was not verified here. Because quartiles can differ by source, year and subject category, the responsible approach is to check the latest database actually used by your institution rather than copy a generic “Q1/Q2” label from an SEO directory.

How should a PhD scholar use these metrics?

Indexing and citation indicators can matter if a university requires publications in specified databases or categories. They should be treated as eligibility and visibility information, not as evidence that the journal is automatically the right destination. A strong scope match, the journal’s recent publication pattern and the intended scholarly audience remain more important for editorial fit.

Publisher, Society Relationship and Editorial Leadership

Labour Economics is published by Elsevier and serves as the official journal of EALE. Elsevier’s current insights comparison panel identifies North-Holland in the publisher field, while the journal and copyright pages sit within Elsevier/ScienceDirect.

The current editorial-board page lists Marco Francesconi of the University of Essex as Editor-in-Chief. It also shows a substantial team of co-editors, associate editors and advisory-board members across institutions in the United States, United Kingdom, continental Europe, Australia and elsewhere. That distribution is relevant to the journal’s international orientation, although editorial-board composition can change and should be checked on the live page.

Authors should not infer likely acceptance from the name or institution of an editor. Editorial assignment depends on topic and workload, and the journal explicitly warns that a paper may be rejected by an editor without external review when it is inconsistent with the aims and scope or does not meet professional standards.

What Does Labour Economics Publish?

Research articles are the dominant visible article type. The official scope additionally refers to review articles, comparative labour-market policy articles, special issues, special sections and collections of topical or conference papers.

Recent and forthcoming titles illustrate the breadth within that labour-economics frame: work on minimum wages and vacancies, social networks and job referrals, first-generation college students, flexibility at work and fertility, structural change and skill-biased change, employer exposure to immigrants, gender peer effects in university courses, pension reforms and firm outcomes, and meta-analytic evidence on immigration and native wages.

These examples should be used to understand topical and methodological fit, not as a checklist of fashionable keywords. A paper on a new setting is entirely plausible if it asks an important labour-economics question and connects its evidence to mechanisms and literature that matter to the journal’s readership.

Is This Journal a Good Match for Your Manuscript?

A good candidate usually has both a labour-economics question and a contribution that matters beyond the immediate dataset or country. Before submission, compare your abstract, introduction and main results with several recent Labour Economics papers that use similar questions or methods.

Signals that another journal may be better

• Labour outcomes are only controls or secondary outcomes in a paper whose main contribution belongs to another discipline.
• The manuscript is primarily descriptive and does not explain an economic mechanism or contribution of interest to labour economists.
• The policy discussion is substantial but the analysis lacks credible evidence for the claims made.
• The paper’s main novelty is a local dataset without a clear reason international readers should update their understanding.
• The manuscript type is not supported by the journal’s current author instructions.

Preparing and Submitting a Manuscript to Labour Economics

Use the current Guide for Authors as the controlling document. Elsevier’s online submission system collects manuscript metadata and files and routes editorial correspondence by email. Requirements can evolve, so do not rely solely on a previously downloaded checklist.

Manuscript preparation

As a practical publication-readiness step, make sure the title and abstract state the labour-economics question, design, main result and contribution without overselling. The introduction should position the paper against the relevant labour literature and make clear why the evidence matters to the journal’s readership. Methods and results should support the claims actually made, and robustness or sensitivity work should address the design’s most plausible weaknesses.

References, figures and supporting files

Follow the journal’s latest reference instructions and keep citation data complete and consistent. Figures and tables should be interpretable without forcing readers to reconstruct definitions from the text. For empirical or computational work, organise code, variable construction and data documentation during manuscript preparation rather than after acceptance, because the journal’s data policy can require sufficient materials for replication before publication.

Submission fee and EALE membership

Submission to the journal is free for EALE members. Elsevier states that authors who do not wish to become EALE members receive payment instructions after submission for a non-refundable fee of EUR 75, USD 100 or JPY 8,000. This is a submission fee; it is distinct from the optional open-access APC that applies only to the open-access publishing route.

Prior referee reports

The official journal information encourages authors to provide information about prior submission of the paper at other journals, including the previous editor’s letter, referee reports and a response letter. Labour Economics reserves the right to use its own referees and to share that correspondence with them. If authors use this route, their response should transparently show how substantive points were addressed rather than treating the prior reports as a shortcut around fresh evaluation.

What Happens After You Submit a Manuscript?

The process begins with editorial screening, and some papers can be rejected without external peer review. Elsevier explicitly notes desk rejection as a possibility where a submission falls outside the aims and scope or fails to meet professional standards.

1. Technical and administrative checks. Submission files, metadata and fee/membership requirements are processed.
2. Editorial assessment. An editor considers scope, professional standard and whether the paper warrants external review.
3. External peer review where selected. Reviewers evaluate the research contribution, evidence, methods and presentation.
4. Revision if invited. Authors respond point by point and revise the manuscript consistently with the response letter.
5. Editorial decision. The editor weighs the paper, reports and revisions; further review may occur.
6. Acceptance and replication/production requirements. Accepted papers move through required data/code documentation, proofing and production before online publication.

The public journal pages used for this guide did not provide a verified acceptance rate. Do not substitute figures from third-party websites. The current Elsevier timeline indicators are more useful for broad planning, but they are historical journal-level measures rather than a guarantee for any individual submission.

Responding to reviewers

For a revision, reproduce each comment, answer it directly, state exactly what changed and identify the revised location. Where you disagree, explain why using evidence or methodological reasoning. Keep the manuscript and response letter synchronised; unexplained discrepancies can create avoidable confusion in a later round.

Open Access, Publication Fees and Current Timelines

Labour Economics is a hybrid journal. Elsevier currently offers an open-access option with an APC of USD 3,360 excluding taxes, while the subscription route carries no author publication fee. The publisher notes that the APC may be reduced during submission where applicable.

Publication Ethics, Data Policy and Responsible AI Use

Authors remain responsible for the originality, accuracy, authorship, data integrity and ethical compliance of the submitted work. Labour Economics is an Elsevier journal, so authors should follow the journal’s current author instructions together with Elsevier’s publishing-ethics requirements.

Replication and research data

The journal’s data policy is unusually important for empirical authors. It states that papers are published only when the program codes and data used in analysis are clearly and precisely documented and readily available for replication. Authors of accepted papers involving empirical work, simulations, experiments or numerical computation must provide data, programs and computational details sufficient for replication before publication. Where data are proprietary or cannot be shared for another reason, the editor should be informed at submission; the journal’s stated policy nevertheless requires program code to be made available.

Core ethical checks

• Do not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals.
• Represent authorship and contributions accurately.
• Disclose relevant funding and conflicts of interest.
• Do not fabricate, falsify or selectively manipulate data or images.
• Obtain applicable ethics approvals and permissions for sensitive research.
• Cite sources and prior work accurately; avoid fabricated references.
• Follow the current publisher policy on generative AI, including any disclosure and authorship restrictions in force at submission.

Because publisher AI policies can evolve quickly, authors should read the live Elsevier policy immediately before submission. AI-assisted language work does not transfer responsibility for claims, citations, analysis or confidential manuscript material away from the authors.

Practical Examples: Would These Manuscripts Fit?

Pre-Submission Checklist for Labour Economics

How Contentxprtz Can Support Authors Preparing for Labour Economics

Contentxprtz can help authors prepare a clearer, more polished and journal-aligned manuscript while all editorial decisions remain solely with Labour Economics. For this journal, useful support may include checking whether the manuscript’s central contribution is visibly labour-economic, strengthening the title and abstract, improving the logic of the introduction, polishing academic English, checking consistency between tables and narrative, reviewing reference presentation, and helping organise a submission-readiness checklist.

For empirical manuscripts, support can also focus on clarity around identification, variable definitions, robustness reporting and replication documentation without altering or inventing the researcher’s data or results. At revision stage, editors can help structure a professional point-by-point response so that every change is easy to trace.